Eastern Air Temple
by VDSams
Summary: Airbenders seek to construct a 4th temple in the southeastern area of the world, in the Ganji Mountain Range. They sent Airbending Master Jino to scout the mountains, and he brought two firebending friends, Aza and Zion, to help him. Their journey is disrupted when they encounter the people who used to live in the Ganji Mountains.
1. Chapter 1: Journey

Behind them stretched the Si Wong Desert in brilliant gold beneath the sun's brutal rays. Pit stops at various sandbender settlements had kept their water carriers filled but the endless sand weakened their spirits: their party of two firebenders and an airbender faired poorly against the desert's determination to prevent them from reaching their goal. Desperate for a respite, they stopped at the Oasis for three days, reveling in the pools and eating their fill before departing again into the harsh desert. A sandbender offered them safe passage for a hefty cost, but Zion's pride refused the aid.

Pulling their blankets tighter around them as they scaled the Ruppa Mountain Range bordering the desert to the east, the trio prepared to go from one extreme of unbearable heat to the frigid temperatures and snow of the mountains. Zion and Aza inhaled deeply and heated the air with their firebending, warming them from the inside against the growing cold. Their thin red robes from the Fire Nation dulled as they crossed the Earth Kingdom provinces. Jino's orange clothing stood stark against the expanse of greenery stretching in every direction as the trio journeyed across the main continent. Arrow tattoos peeked from beneath his sleeves onto the back of his hands, and beneath his hood was inked the end of an arrow.

For half a day, the snow grew deeper and the temperature dropped drastically. At lunch Zion and Aza melted the snow in a small circle; the snow was deep enough for the trio to sit in the circle and have walls of snow reach above their heads. With a reprieve from the wind, the trio ate slowly to extend their time safe from the flurries. Though measly, the meal of rice cakes and fruit squashed their hunger and kept their spirits heightened against the mountain's constant battering.

"Isn't there an easier way to cross the mountain?" Zion asked. "This snow is going to be the death of us. I didn't volunteer for this. First that desert and now this. Are you trying to kill us?"

"The mountains stretch north and south," Jino said. "If we went around them, we would add two weeks to our trip. Our pass through the mountains will take two days. We can handle it."

"I knew the mountains would be snow-filled, but I didn't think there was this much," Zion said. "Our fire supply isn't endless. Exhaustion will kill us before we're able to melt all the snow in our path. We can't walk on top of the snow like you."

Jino stood-his hood flapping in the wind-and spun ending with a wrist twirl. A gust of wind gouged a path in the snow leading deeper into the mountains.

"There are three of us," he said. "We can take turns clearing a path. Doubt is like an infection: let it grow and you will be consumed, but squash it early and you will flourish."

"Is that some air nomad adage?"

"Monk Lito shared his teachings at the Northern Air Temple," Jino said. "Adage or current teaching, its lesson is still applicable."

"Yeah yeah but-"

Aza's hand fell gently on Zion's arm. "We need to help Jino reach the southeastern lands," she said. "Jino was entrusted with scouting land for a fourth airbending temple. We need to help him. We will make it through the mountains. It will be ok."

Zion finished his rice cake and packed up their bags.

"Alright, let's head out then. I don't want to spend more time in these mountains than I have to."

Jino lead the way down the path blown clear by his airbending while Zion and Aza followed. Only cleared minutes before, snow already coated the base of the path and quickly rose up their ankles. Jino blew another gust to clear the path, but the wind fought back and filled in the opening. Zion grew agitated as they trudged through the snow, but Aza turned to smile at him for brief moments, and though the flurries blurred her face, her smile still broke through the snow and comforted him.

As afternoon dragged on, Jino's paths grew narrower and his gusts weakened. Aza offered to lead the trio, though her firebending was much slower than Jino's air. Aza shot streams of fire at the snow, clearing paths only a few feet ahead. She repeated the process until Zion offered to take over. Determined to show off in front of Aza, Zion threw all his energy into his stream of flames, melting long swathes of snow, but he wasn't as effective as Jino.

Rotating between leaders, the trio worked through the mountain passes more slowly than Jino had anticipated. When they reached the end of a clearing and waited for the leader to form another, Jino looked behind them. The path disappeared beneath the snow, which grew as deep as they were tall. As their weariness heightened, their bending lessened until the paths were thinning and they walked single file. The mountain's peaks were hidden by the flurries, and the walls of snow on either side were so high that only the sky above was visible. Jino leaped atop the snow, his footsteps light, though he could only say that he thought they were still going in the right direction. In the blowing snow, nothing was visible. Zion complained at every opportunity, but Aza silenced him each time, reaffirming they were alright, though as night came her reassurances were less certain to herself. Jino ignored his complaints.

Aza lit lanterns when night arrived. Hoping they were still headed east and not turned north or south, Jino blasted pathways in the lantern's light. Collectively they slowed, the cold encroaching on their limbs despite the firebender's heated breath and the airbender's ability to regulate his body temperature. Jino offered to stop for the night, to the appreciation of his traveling companions.

Mustering the last of his strength, Jino twisted his hands in the air to create a mini-tornado that grew to a large swirl of air that cleared the surrounding area of snow, revealing a mountainside they could make camp against. Aza and Zion cleared the area with firebending, leaving the high walls to block the wind from killing them in the middle of the night. They ate another bland meal of rice cakes and fruit though they held the fruit near their bodies to unfreeze them. Zion and Aza slept first, leaving Jino to keep the snow at bay. In blips the flurries blew in odd directions as Jino's fatigue grew.

With the firebenders curled next to each other in their own blankets, Jino sat a few feet away, leaving them near the rocky mountain. Watching the swirling mass of snow pile up the narrow pass leading out of their alcove lulled Jino near sleep, but he stood and paced. He focused on the air in his body, regulating his body temperature as cold bursts blew through the opening and trickled down his thin airbender's clothing. He forfeited his two blankets to Zion and Aza so they would have multiple layers to stay warm while sleeping.

Snow slowly encased the opening above their alcove as snow settled atop the eight-foot high drifts. Jino sent blasts of air to clear the opening, but the relentless snow undid his effort. Another unnatural movement of snow flurries caught Jino's eyes, and the opening above built up almost immediately after he cleared it away. Jino sat on the ground and meditated, his fists closed and pressed together. Air currents blew over his bald head, now exposed with his hood off. For minutes the flurries blew in the same patterns, whipping in circles and blowing loose snow to cover their alcove.

A break in the pattern slithered across his skin when the smooth current grew disturbed and hit him in waves rather than a consistent breeze. Jino opened his eyes and leaped out of the opening above, clearing it away once again. He landed softly on the snow mere feet away, his hands raised in front of him and close to his body, as if to chop at something. Light-footed, he spun on top of the snow and searched through the blustering snow but was blinded by the white-out condition. The air current changed again. Jino collided his fists together to create a globe of air forty feet in diameter around him, protecting the space from blowing snow.

Exposed near the edge of the air globe stood a hooded figure in a thick, deep blue jacket and matching pants tucked into heavy boots. Spinning their arms like a windmill, a slice of ice rose from the snow and shot at Jino. He released his hands and shot two streams of air: one broke the ice while the other barreled toward the blue-clad person. A barrier of ice rose from the snow to block the air blast as the air globe disappeared.

Jino spun his hands around each other, forming a mini-tornado to suck up the snow on the ground. The tornado blasted snow from the ground at the ice barrier, wearing away at the blue-clad figure's protection. From Jino's left shot a field of ice spikes growing from the snow in the blink of an eye. One emerged beneath Jino's foot; he let it push him upward thirty feet in the air.

While defenseless, pellets of ice shot toward him. Jino spun on his side and rolled along the top of the ice pellet barrage until he landed at their source. The blue-clad figure rose their arms encased in snow that turned to ice with razor sharp ends. The figure spun but Jino leaped backwards; the arms grew so they reached him where he landed.

From behind Jino a fireball flew through the air, colliding with the ice arms. Two streams of fire roared at the blue-clad figure, who summoned all the snow around them into more ice barriers that melted quickly. When it melted fully the figure was gone. The trio stood with their backs together, each searching in separate directions with their arms poised to strike.

Three spires of water rose beneath each of the trio and wrapped around them, turning to ice around their bodies as they were pulled apart so they couldn't see each other through the blizzard. Zion and Aza attempted to melt the ice but it regrew instantly. Jino stopped struggling and waited until the blizzard stopped in a larger orb around them, the snow outside the orb continuing to blow while the area between the trio was still. Snow piled around the orb to encase them in a large globe.

In the center stood the blue-blad figure, their arms raised.

"Who are you?" the figure's feminine asked.

"It's none of your business," Zion said. The ice around him tightened.

"Who are you?" the figure repeated.

"We're traveling to the Ganji Mountains," Aza said. "We're with an airbender to find a location for a new Air Temple."

The figure pulled off their hood to reveal short hair and a slender female face. "Pirates have claimed the southeastern lands as their own. Hordes have pillaged all the land and imprison anyone who steps foot near their domain. Give up."

"Then we must throw out the pirates," Jino said. "They must not be allowed to conquer free peoples."

The woman threw her arms once around her body and the snow orb turned to ice. She ended her bending with lowering her arms and a deep breath out. The ice towers holding the trio captive sank and returned to snow, releasing their prisoners.

"Even an airbending master could not retake the land from all the pirates," she said. "There are hundreds and their navy is enormous, with ships coming and going day and night. New defenses of catapults have been built along the coasts. We tried taking the islands back but too many of us were killed."

"Who are you?" Aza asked as she helped Zion stand, who struggled after having the air squeezed from his lungs.

"I am Taka, one of the last peoples from the Ganji Mountains you seek," she answered. "That island and its mountain range are lost."

"Where are the rest of your people?" Jino asked.

"They are hidden in these mountains," Taka said. "We are scattered and broken. You're trespassing on our new home."

"I did not mean to trespass. My name is Jino. I am an Air Nomad from the Northern Air Temple. That land's connection to the spirit world is strong. Many of our airbending masters want to construct a new temple on that island to connect with the spirit world. I was sent to investigate the area and see if it is inhabitable and what people currently reside there. These are my traveling companions, Zion and Aza from the Fire Islands."

"Your quest is futile," Taka said. "My people number less than a hundred after our attack on the pirates to reqonque our home. Turn back."

"I will complete my quest," Jino said. "We can work together to reclaim the island and give your people their home back. The airbenders and your people can live in harmony."

"My people will not lose any more of our lives for a pointless cause," Taka said. She stared into the snowstorm momentarily. "I will build you a shelter for the night. I suggest you stay well inside of it until morning comes and hopefully the snowstorm lessens."

"Take me to your people," Jino demanded.

"We don't need her help," Zion said. "She attacked us as we slept. We can't trust her."

"We have to if she will help the airbenders," Jino said.

Aza pleaded with Taka, "Please, give us fresh food for our travel tomorrow and warm shelter for tonight. We're weary travelers in an unforgiving mountain."

Taka stared between the trio. "I will take you to my people, but you must leave first thing in the morning. My people do not welcome visitors warmly since the pirates pillaged and murdered us."

She turned and waved both arms outward, shifting the snow before her as far as they could see in the blizzard. "We have a short walk back. I won't wait for you if you fall far behind."

Wind and snow battered the group, but Aza and Jino stayed close to Taka; the closer to the waterbender they were, the softer the gusts were. Zion stomped behind his comrades, billowing smoke from his mouth and nostrils while taking in full force the blowing snow. Around him snow melted and steam rose into the air, creating a fog that mixed with the snowstorm. Taka continued in front of the group, clearing the snow into ice walls that prevented the snow from reclaiming the path. As Zion at the back of the group passed by the ice walls, they broke down again into snow that covered their path.

"We can't trust a random waterbender living in the mountains," Zion said to Aza, the storm quieting his voice so Taka couldn't hear. "Is risking our lives with these pirates and this crazy waterbender worth it?"

"He needs our help," Aza said. "We've known Jino since we were all young. We adopted him until the air nomads visited the islands and we could give him back to his people. We can't just abandon him. We need your help." She held Zion's hand and stared deep into him, entrancing him. "Abandoning him would be dishonorable."

"Don't talk to me like that," Zion said angrily. "That is not how you talk to your betrothed."

"And abandoning your friends in times of need is not how you treat your friends," Aza said. "Or in Jino's case, your adopted brother. Do it for me, if you won't do it for the airbenders."

She jogged a few paces to catch up to Jino. Zion threw fire at the collapsing ice wall behind him.

Taka led the trio to a cave formed of ice except for the earth floor, the long curve of the walls kept snow out of the cave. Zion collapsed on the floor and warmed the frozen ground so he could feel dirt between his fingers.

Taka snorted at him, then faced the back of the cave and spun her hands around each other once. The cave wall compacted and formed a small opening large enough for a human to fit through. She jumped through it and waved the hesitant trio through. Jino led the way, and with his leadership Aza followed. Zion stared out the ice cave wall at the darkness and snow consuming the mountain. Lighting a small flame in his palm he stepped through the arch, which Taka closed behind him.

"Welcome to the Ruppa Mountain Range," Taka said, "and the last of the people of the Ganji Mountains."

Jino, Aza, and Zion stood atop a staircase leading into a valley where a hundred people lived in homes built of perfect cubic stones. Multiple fires were lit through the settlements and lined many structures, the smoke drifting upward to openings in the mountains high up. Snow blew through these openings but evaporated before it fell to the village below. Despite the reprieve from the storm the air was still cold. Taka started down the long staircase.

"How long have your people lived here?" Jino asked.

"We have been inside the mountain for five years," Taka said. "We venture onto the mountain side only when it is not storming for food. Once a week a group will travel to a village at the base of the mountain and barter for supplies or exchange work for food to bring back."

"Why not join one of the villages rather than crawl into a mountain?" Zion said. "Seems like a terrible place to live."

"It's home," Taka said. The conversation ended.

When they reached the base of the stairs, the villagers-all garbed in green-stared at the trio behind Taka, the parents pulling their children inside as the three strangers passed. Before they passed the second house the village streets were cleared. Aza noticed the air warmed considerably once in the village.

"Why-"

"Our people are afraid of another raid by pirates and of losing more lives to those savages," Taka said. "We have not had strangers in our village for over three years."

"Why?"

"The elders choose to ban outsiders from entering the village," Taka said. "The threat of losing more of our people was too great."

The earth around the quartet loosened and six people clad in thick green clothing popped from the earth. In unison they stomped and sharp pillars of earth emerged from the ground and grew until the points were inches away from the trio.

"Who are these intruders?" one of the women in green asked.

"They are with me and we are going to see the elders," Taka said.

"Outsiders are not allowed in our village," a man said.

Zion threw fire from his foot and kicked upward through an earth pillar, shattering it. He leaped at one of the earth benders and wrapped an arm around the earthbender's neck, shooting a short stream of fire from his fingertips at the earthbender's neck. The female earthbender sank Jino into the earth so only his head was above ground.

"Release him or he dies."

"Kill him," Zion said, "and I'll gladly kill this earthbender."

A pillar of ice shot through the air and froze around Zion's fingers. The earthbender knocked him in his stomach and sprang loose from his grasp. He sank Zion into the earth as well.

"I do not want to fight," Jino said. "We were traveling through the mountain to get to the Ganji Mountains when Taka found us."

The earthbenders looked at each other. They rose Zion from the ground and wrapped his hands behind his back in earth. They did the same with Jino and Aza. "You were wrong to bring them here," the female earthbender said to Taka.

"They would have died otherwise, Nin" Taka said.

"They might be killed if the elders decide to do so," Nin said.

She waved her battalion of earthbenders to lead their three prisoners through the village. Even with the strangers captured, the villagers remained hidden. Deeper into the small village were buildings two- and three-stories tall, and at the end of the short walk through the village was a building emerging from the wall that was taller than the rest. At the top a rail bordered the roof, where three figures stood.

The group stopped at the base of the five-story structure. The two earthbenders nearest the wall moved their hands up and down in a wave motion, moving a square platform of earth up the building side, raising the trio, Taka, and themselves to the roof. Taka led the party off the platform of earth, but two earthbenders stayed on it to keep it at roof level.

"Who are these three?" a tall man in green warrior's garb asked, his back to the group as he watched the village from the east edge of the roof. At the western edge stood another tall man in blue and a tall woman in green.

"Taka brought them into our village," Nin said.

"I found them wandering through the mountain," Taka said, but she spoke to the two figures in blue and green. "I engaged them but stopped when they told me their purpose."

"I must say," the lone green-clad man said, "it is strange to find two firebenders and an airbender wandering so high in the mountains during such a fierce storm. Either you are foolish or brave, and rarely is there a difference."

"I am Jino from the Northern Air Temple. I was sent by my elders to scout the Ganji Mountain range on the islands in the southeast of the world. The Air Nomads are searching for a location for a fourth temple, and we heard rumor of strong spiritual energy in that mountain range."

"Oh the spiritual energy is quiet powerful there." He turned to faced the trio. Deep lines streaked across his face and his hands shook while folded in front of him. Scars decorated his right arm and leg so no unblemished skin showed. Despite his body weathering his clothes were new and he moved as if no harm had ever come to his body. "You are another people who would march onto our land and take what is not yours."

"The Air Nomads would never steal," Jino said. "We hoped that if people were settled in the mountain range that they would share the land with us and we could benefit from each other."

"How is your people moving into the mountain range and sharing with us different than just moving into the mountains without permission? Either way our land is robbed and our people suffer."

"We are sorry," the tall man dressed in blue said. He and the woman approached the group. "I am Don, and this is Gwu. I am sorry but we cannot give our blessing to a people who would move into the Ganji Mountains. It is too sacred to allow outsiders to live in it." His voice carried two tones, both saying the words, creating an echo as he spoke. His body was pristine compared to his comrade's, though his age showed in his salt-and-pepper hair.

"The airbenders can help you fight off the pirates," Jino said.

"It is not the airbender's way to engage in war," Gwu said. "Their way is one of peace. I am certain the monk's teachings were not lost on your, Master Jino." She bowed and her nimble body easily sank into the motions. Her face carried a youthful glow but her eyes hid a deeper story.

"If that land is spiritual, we can't let pirates continue to decimate it," Jino said.

"We have tried and lost too many," Don said. "The Ganji Mountains are lost, as are the spiritual lands within them."

"These people don't care," Zion said. "It's pointless talking to any of them."

"Young firebender, you have much to learn," Gwu said, her voice melodic. "I hope you one day understand the difficulties in life and remove the blinders you wear."

Zion punched fire toward her, but two earthbenders blocked the fire with walls of earth while two of their comrades grew earth spires around Zion.

"I wish you luck on your journey, young firebender," Gwu said when the earthbenders removed the wall. "Your flame burns on corrupted fuel."

She returned to the ledge of the roof with Don.

"I propose that we let these travelers try their skill against the pirates," Taka said. "What will it cost us but the lives of three travelers?"

Don thought for a moment. "I will give my blessing to that quest as long as our people's lives are not in danger."

Gwu slithered her arm through his and stood with her upper arm pressed against his. In the dull light emanated by the fires below, they appeared as statues guarding the city.

"Take these three away and toss them back into the snow," the weather-torn earthbender said. "Let the mountain decide their fate."

"You heard your father," Taka said. "They are to go to the Ganji Mountains and face the pirates. I will guide them down the mountain."

"Foolish waterbender," the earthbender said. "The mountain will be their ruin, and if not, then the pirates shall be their deaths." He returned to his perch on the eastern roof ledge opposite Don and Gwu.

On the ground Taka lead the trio into a house near the outskirts of the small village. Nin followed the group to keep a bracelet of earth around Zion's hands. Villagers peered out windows as the group passed and some brave souls ventured into the streets to continue their daily business and chores, but they kept a suspicious eye on the trio of visitors. All villagers wore heavy, warm clothing to keep the chill of the mountain out, and many hovered near the numerous fires. Picnic tables sat between houses and no official road or path existed to walk on; villagers walked wherever they wanted. Doors were shut quickly as fires burned within and food was scarce but bountiful enough to keep the population content.

Taka's house had two rooms: a bedroom and a moderately-sized space combining a table and chairs with counter space. Animal furs were laid on some chairs gathered in a circle. Nin followed them inside but refused to release Zion's hands despite his protests.

"All those people look defeated," Aza said. "There's no warmth in their eyes."

"Their spirits were broken when the pirates took their homes," Nin said. Her tone was aggressive and her eyes never left Zion, who sat on an animal-pelt covered chair.

"We need to help these people," Jino said.

"That is the avatar's duty," Zion said. "I say we let them struggle under this mountain. Why should we concern ourselves with someone else? We have enough happening in our lives." The rock band around his wrists tightened.

"Our people have waited for the avatar to come for the past five years," Taka said. "He has not come. We have no hope that he will ever come." She busied herself taking bowls down from a ledge. "I will make soup for supper."

Jino sat at the table while Taka heated up water over a fire that Aza lit. In the ceiling a hole above the fire allowed the smoke to escape. As the fire burned the house heated and the group could remove their heavier clothes. Once the water boiled, Taka dropped in the few spare morsels she had, and added in flour to thicken the mixture. She circulated her hand near the pot above the fire, stirring the liquid within. Nin remained rigid next to Zion as Taka used waterbending to separate the bland, mostly-broth soup into five bowls.

With no spoons the five slurped soup, filling the house with a mixture of the crackling fire and their slurping. Nin freed Zion's hands but she encased his feet in earth so he couldn't leave his spot; Nin's smile revealed too much satisfaction at restraining Zion.

"You do not have to accompany us to the base of the mountain," Jino said. "We can manage."

"You would have frozen to death last night had I not attacked you," Taka said. "I make trips all over these mountains. Bringing you to the base will be no problem. Besides, I want to join you."

"Taka, you cannot join these outsiders," Nin said. "Your duty is to the people of this village, not to some wandering airbender looking for a new home."

"We don't need any extra dead weight," Zion said.

Aza smacked him as she walked past to set her bowl on the counter. He glared at her with vengeful fire in his eyes.

"We appreciate the offer but we don't want to get you into trouble with your people."

"If you won't allow me to travel with you then I'll find my own way into the Ganji Mountains."

Nin sighed. "If you're going, then I'm going too. Earthbending in combat has felt freeing. I can only imagine what earthbending at the pirates would be like. Plus, if you're going to scale a mountain, having an earthbender would probably help."

Taka and Nin stared satisfied at Jino.

He stood to bow and place a closed fist against an open palm, the sign of respect among his people. "Thank you for your help."

"I'm not staying chained up in earth if she's coming with us," Zion said.

"When you are out of our village I will release you," Nin said. "I cannot allow you to move freely after attacking our leader."

Jino joined Taka at the sink to dry the dishes with mini-tornados as she washed with waterbending.

"Who exactly are your leaders?"

"That is not information I can share with an outsider," Taka said. The conversation ended as they finished cleaning the dishes.

"Rest, and we'll head out in the morning," Taka said. "It's still dark out, and the snowstorm likely hasn't let up."

Aza barely slept. Though the fire burned throughout the night, she felt a chill slither from beneath the door. Zion's hands were again bound but he slept without notice. Nin insisted on guarding Zion but she fell asleep soon after him, as did Jino and Taka. Wind whispered through the village like spirits watching over the community. Inside Taka's house, the whispers stopped so only the crackling of the fire and Zion's deep breathing filled the air.

Climbing nimbly from her blankets, Aza crept closer to the fire to sit within a foot of it. The flames danced along her skin but never touched her. She closed her eyes and stuck her hand into the fire: it parted around her. The fire grew from a few flames to a towering height that reached halfway to the ceiling. Aza's eyes glowed red reflecting the flames. As the flames danced higher her eyes grew wider and all color left them except red until her eyes were unrecognizable. A hand grasped her shoulder and a cool sensation swam through her body.

"Calm down," Taka said gently.

Her hand glowed as the water encasing it soothed Aza. Slowly the fire shrank until only embers glowed in the dark room and color returned to Aza's eyes. Taka removed her hand from Aza's shoulder and the water on it flew to a bowl sitting on the counter. Taka sat next to Aza and huddled beneath a blanket.

"What was that?"

Aza stared at the dying embers. She gripped one wrist in the opposite hand. Taka took both Aza's hands in her own. They sat there until sleep drifted over both women.

With no natural light in the village, being woken in the morning felt like it was still nighttime and their bodies reacted with an unwillingness to move. Determined to drive the pirates from the Ganji Mountains, Jino sprang from his blankets ready to go. Aza and Zion slowly crawled to their feet, but Jino was already waiting outside with an apple ate and his backpack strung over his shoulders. He checked in every few minutes on his companions to ask how long they would be. Zion ignored him and Aza's responses grew lack-luster.

Jino bolted ahead of the party of five, waiting at the ice walls in the mountainside leading out of the village. Still weary of the visitors but more carefree after their multi-day presence, the villagers wandered between buildings to add fuel to their fires, trade small portions of food, and visit the tunnels leading outside. Aza's eyes met a villager's: the man was thin and his hands trembled when holding small pieces of fruit. Beneath his light frame, his legs shook. Aza glanced from him to the three figures standing like statues on the roof of the main building. They were not on opposite sides of the building but all three gazed in the direction the party walked to. Near the border of the village the three figures blurred and disappeared from sight.

Taka dissolved the ice wall and rebuilt it when the party walked through. A light shone above the main building where the three figures had been. She closed the hole with ice again.

Zion breathed deeply as the sun warmed his skin and replenished his energy. Nin removed the earth braces around Zion's hands. With his limbs fully free he shot a burst of fire into the air. Between two mountain peaks blue skies reached overhead to the sea in the distance though fog covered the Ganji Mountains. Taka waved both arms and the snow cleared in front of them as far as they could see; the farther away they looked, the more the snow blended into a white mass with no end.

"We have almost a full day's walk to the mountain's base, then it's another two hour trek to the sea," Taka said. "We'll also need to find a boat to get across. I know some fishermen living along the coast but they won't want to sail to the Ganji Mountains. The pirates have terrified everyone living in the area."

"This is a suicide mission," Nin said. "We can't beat the pirates. There are too many of them."

"You didn't have any fire or airbenders last time," Jino said. "The pirates will be thrown off guard and I will drive them out of the mountains."

" _We_ will," Taka said. "It'll take all of us to even have a chance of being successful." She waved her arms again to clear more snow as they walked. "I don't know how they've changed the landscape of the mountains since we were driven out. There may be entirely new structures."

"Are we trying to capture the pirates or are casualties not an issue?" Nin said.

"Casualties are fine," Zion said. "Do pirates deserve mercy?"

"Does the hawk who kills a snake that kills a mouse any better than the snake?" Jino said.

"Airbender crap," Zion whispered to Nin, "kill them all." He forgave Nin for holding him captive when she smirked at his comment.

Traveling through the snowy mountain was simple with Taka at the forefront of their party. Her waterbending made clearing the path easy and she never grew tired. Jino stayed on her heels and often ran ahead to the end of the path she cleared, only to tap his foot in annoyance while waiting for the others to catch up; he ran at the speed of wind. Taka ignored his ushering to move faster.

Zion and Nin walked in silence at the rear of the group. Both watched the other with suspicion. Zion's fingers stayed alert and nimble to throw fire while Nin stepped wider than normal with longer strides to more easily bend earth if Zion attacked. When Zion agreed to killing all the pirates, Nin let her guard down and exchanged a few words. Their conversations were short. Neither said more than a sentence nor revealed their excitement at working with the other, but neither upheld their posture to attack the other.

Mountain peaks grew smaller as the day wore on and the group ventured farther from the center of the mountains. The height of the snow lessened and by afternoon Jino cleared the snow around them with a tiny flick of his wrist, the light dusting nothing against the gusts he could summon. Just before lunch the slope turned downward and all five members of their party were thankful for the reprieve of walking uphill. As they climbed down the mountain they removed their heavier clothes.

Jino insisted on running ahead to the water's edge in the distance but Taka said it would take them another five hour to reach it. Zion dived into full conversations with Nin because it meant ignoring Jino's incessant pestering to move faster. Nin accepted Zion's invitation to conversation and they slouched back behind the other three even farther. Aza thought of hanging back too but Nin shot hateful stares at her if she tried.

They ate while walking rather than stopping to light a fire, all at Jino's insistence that they reach the water's edge by nightfall. Zion threw his apple cores on the ground near Jino's feet, which received spiteful looks from Aza. Nin stood at Zion's side and stared Aza down until she stopped glaring at Zion.

Jino sped ahead to the water; the others reached it an hour later as the last ray of sun left the night sky. Wispy clouds mixed with the stars as the black waves lashed against the shoreline. Zion shot fire at a small pile of twigs; Nin threw dirt to extinguish it.

"What's that about?" Zion said.

"No fires on the shore," Nin said. "The pirates watch these waters. The pirates know where the farmers and fishermen live along these shores. If we light a fire where there normally isn't one, the pirates will attack us."

"She's right," Taka said. "I would love to warm up by a fire but the pirates are ruthless."

She stepped into the water with bare feet and let it lap against her legs. Jino scanned the water for a ship but in the darkness he could see nothing.

"We need to rest for tonight," Aza said by his side.

"We need to cross the sea and rescue the mountains from the pirates."

Aza wrapped her hand in his. "We're too tired to cross tonight and fight the pirates. We need to talk tonight about a strategy. Taka and Nin know the mountains and can tell us what to expect when we fight the pirates. Please just rest."

Jino stormed away from the shore and threw his hand from Aza's. She stared after him until he disappeared in the dark.

"We should split into two groups," Taka said later that night when the five sat in a circle. "Nin and I can lead you through the mountains. It's been five years so hopefully things haven't changed much. There were two main cities we lived in, one near the shore and another halfway up the mountains. I doubt the pirates stayed in the mountain city since it's so far away from the water."

"What do we have to worry about when we fight them?" Zion said. "Are any of them benders?" Even in the dark Taka could see the passion for death in his eyes.

"None of the pirates are benders," Taka said, "but many know how to fight benders. They use swords and other hand-to-hand combat weapons, such as maces and chains. They also attack in groups, so prepare to face multiple pirates at once, hence why we will stay in groups ourselves. We have a better chance of surviving if we're not alone."

"What is our goal?" Aza said. "We can't just go in and fight every pirate."

"Five years ago there were three pirates that ran various parts of the island," Taka said. "Their names are Rin, Kashi, Obi. All three took up residence in the main city. If we take them out, the pirates will be leaderless and chaos will ensue. Then we could probably drive the pirates out of the Ganji Mountains. Probably."

"This doesn't sound like it has a high chance of success or like I have a high chance of surviving," Zion said. "If this is a suicide mission then count me out now."

"We will succeed," Jino said. "We have to. Even from here I can feel the spiritual energy from the mountains. We need to build our new temple there."

Taka stared at Jino until Aza spoke up.

"I suggest we get some sleep."

"Somebody is here," Jino whispered.

Zion, Nin, and Taka stood in fighting stances and struggled to see an enemy through the dark.

"There is a ship sailing toward us along the shore," Jino said.

Taka ran to the water. As she stepped on it, ice formed around her ankles to hold her afloat. With each step more ice formed. Behind her a trail of ice floated out to sea. Once she disappeared from their immediate sight, the four did not see Taka but heard the distant sound of sword on sword, a few screams, and a _crack_ of wood that split the night's silence. Taka returned soon.

"There's nothing to worry about. Let's get some sleep. Aza, you have first watch."

Taka bended the water from her clothes and then curled under a blanket near the shore. Nin chopped diagonally at the ground around her and two earth walls grew over her in a tent. Zion longingly gazed at the earth tent but he pulled out a blanket and curled under his own blanket.

Jino stayed awake through the night, staring across the sea at the mountain range hidden in the dark. He sat cross-legged with his fingers folded across his lap with his back erect. The spiritual energy leaked into him.


	2. Chapter 2: Blaze

Taka woke the group before sunrise. Zion struggled to sit up while Aza rolled over happily and gracefully sat up. Nin's earth tent sank back into the ground to reveal her standing with her bag strapped over her shoulders. Taka searched for Jino and finally found him meditating on the water's edge.

"I didn't sleep last night," Jino said. "We wasted time staying here. We should have attacked while they slept. We could have freed the mountains of the pirates if we did that."

Taka sighed. "Everybody is ready to go. When you're done meditating, we'll leave." She returned to the others with Jino on her heels.

"How are we getting across the sea?" Zion asked. "Hopefully it's easier than getting across that mountain and desert were."

"We're not going across it, we're going under it," Taka said.

"How are we supposed to go under it?" Zion said.

"Waterbending," Taka said. "When we reach the shore, Zion and Nin will go south to take out Kashi, while Jino, Aza and I will go north and take care of Rin and Obi. When you get into town find clothes to dress like pirates so you don't stick out. Don't bend until you reach the Pirate Lords. Otherwise they'll know we're there and we'll all die."

"Why do we have to listen to you?" Zion said.

"Because I know the mountains best and I led our people against the pirates last time," Taka said.

"But you said most of your people died last time. Why should we follow you?"

Taka lifted a hand level with Zion's head; the water from the canteen at her side shot into her hand as an ice shaft pressed against Zion's neck.

"We need him, Taka," Nin said. "Put your water away."

Taka's eyes barreled into Zion's but he returned only a smirk. The ice blade turned to water and slithered across his neck, through her hand, and back into her canteen. "Let's go."

She approached the sea's edge with everyone behind her; Zion stood farthest away. Taka moved her arms in waves across her body and stepped toward the sea. The water parted and the five entered the globe of water. As Zion stepped onto the seabed, the globe closed behind him. With the sun still not risen, blackness enveloped the group. Aza and Zion lit small fires in their palms.

"Keep the flames burning low," Taka said, her arms still waving across her body to maintain the orb's shape. "If they grow too big, the pirates will see the glow if they sail above us."

Their trek beneath the sea was slow but Taka proved resilient and kept their orb from collapsing. Zion glared at their leader but reduced his flame to near nothing when large shadows of ships sailed overhead, blocking out pre-dawn's light. An hour later they emerged into a bundle of rocks along the shore. Waves splattered against the rocks and cloaked the quintet. Nin refused to use earthbending against Zion's pleas, so the group struggled up the slippery rocks until they stood on flat ground hidden from behind the rocks. Jino spied on two pirate ships sailing past, their black banners and wide vessels silently skating through the water.

"This is where we split up," Taka said. She pointed south. "Zion and Nin, you're going in that direction. Jino and Aza, we're going up the other way."

"How will we know if the other succeeds?" Aza asked. She gazed at Zion.

"In two days we'll meet back here," Jino said. "We leave if the other group isn't here by nightfall."

Taka strutted up the shore out of the boulder forest. Jino hurriedly followed but Aza hesitated. When she turned toward Zion, he was gone with Nin, the pair already out of shouting distance. She ran to catch up to Jino and Taka, and when she looked back the boulders blocked the southern shore completely.

"So what happens when we get rid of these two pirates?" Jino asked. "Won't other pirates just fight to be the leader?"

The sand slowed their progress as it gobbled their feet with each step. To blend in with the pirates they threw their footwear into the water and left their backpacks buried near the boulders. Jino's agility and light footsteps let him walk with ease across the beach and stones while his comrades' breathing grew haggard.

"The reason Rin, Obi, and Kashi were able to organize and lead all the pirates is because they made deals with evil spirits and gained altered weapons and flawless swordsmanship," Taka said. "We didn't know of their abilities nor their dealings with spirits until a week into their siege. In the night they snuck into our cities and murdered our benders. Once most of our benders were gone, we couldn't resist the pirates anymore. Their numbers overwhelmed us, too. I fought Rin one-on-one. Neither of us could gain the advantage, even with my bending. Ultimately we wounded each other: I pierced her arm with an ice spear and she cut me along the back. Neither of us could continue so we both retreated. I do not know what will happen when we meet again, even with you two. Without their leadership and power, we could take back our home and the pirates would be powerless. I hope there'd be so much confusion that the pirates would destroy themselves."

"How was she able to match a bender with only a sword?" Aza asked. "You captured all three of us by yourself in the mountains."

"I was surrounded by snow I could bend," Taka said. "If I was in the same situation with Rin, I could take her easily. In the heart of the city, water is limited. I carry around these two canteens so I always have water with me."

"Why are Rin and Obi together," Jino asked, "but Kashi is separated from them? If all three made a deal with spirits, why are they not together?"

"They attacked together because separate they would not have been able to conquer us. We sent spies after we were driven out for the first few months, but many were killed so we stopped. Through their sacrifice we discovered that Kashi tried to eliminate the other two, but they drove him southward. The pirates split into northern and southern factions. My guess is that if we eliminate their leader from either group, the other would attack to conquer the entire island. Despite being in pirate control, there isn't unity."

"So even if Zion and Nin fail, when we get rid of Rin and Obi the southern pirates will go to war with the northern pirates," Jino said. "Good. Then we can move in and drive them all out."

Taka walked in silence for a few minutes. "Are you prepared to kill them? Airbenders do not condone killing."

"These pirates have invaded spiritual land. I will do what I need to so I can save this land."

Jino walked ahead of the two women. Taka gave an inquiring look at Aza, who shrugged.

By mid-morning the sun-scorched their necks and tanned their arms. Zion tore his sleeves off and stole pants from a fisherman along the shore. Nin brought a change of clothes. Both wore tattered brown clothing coated with dirt and two-sizes too big. Their progress was slow the longer they walked, though they stayed near enough each other to reach out and grab the other's hand.

Ships and boats floated on most of the sea, the sun bringing all the sailors out to fish while others brought stolen items to trade and sell. A city appeared up the shore shortly after their journey started and pirates populated the sandy shore, bumping into the duo while carrying supplies running between larger and smaller ships. Zion almost threw fire at multiple pirates but Nin placed her hand on his arm to stop him. She hesitated to remove it; he acted as if to throw fire at all the pirates just so she would touch his arm.

"This was my hometown before the pirates attacked," Nin said as they wandered up narrow streets around tarps flapping in the breeze between houses, protecting their merchants from basking all day in the sun. "I haven't seen my house in five years. It's layout used to be etched in my mind but it's been so long I only remember small parts of it. Even those are blurry."

Zion reached for her hand. "We'll go find your home, and we'll purge it of the pirates who stole it from you. Which was your house?"

"I don't remember," Nin said. Zion saw weakness in her for a moment, but she clenched her teeth and squeezed Zion's hand. "Follow me." She dragged him into an alley that wound between buildings until the sound of merchants on the streets disappeared. "Stay here."

She shoved two fists upward and beneath her a column of earth rose to shoot her to the roof of a building. Zion waited for less than a minute before he heard her footsteps and what echoed a sack being dragged.

"Catch," Nin said from above.

Zion held out his arms as Nin dropped a scrawny man into them. Zion threw him against the wall and lifted a fist to the man's neck, the end of a small flame protruding from his fist licking the man's neck. Nin jumped from the roof, flattening the earth column.

"You're benders," the man said.

"Yell and this fire will barrel into your neck," Zion said.

"How did you get into our city?" the man said. "No benders have been here-"

"Since you drove us out and killed us off," Nin said. "I'm looking for my home. All I remember is an elephant head symbol."

The man stuttered. "The Wun-Tah family crest. It's along the southern part of town."

Nin stomped on the ground. A hole opened beneath the man that sucked him in. She clenched her fist and the hole closed above it.

"Now he can't alert anybody that we're here. Let's go."

Zion smirked as he followed Nin out of the alley.

The city of Shen screamed with violence and sin as the trio approached the now pirate-run city. Located on the coast, Shen had no walls to protect it from invaders but the armada of pirate ships clogging the sea would protect it from any that wished to conquer it. If a conqueror entered the city, hundreds of well-armed and quick-to-snap pirates would end the intruder's life before they drew a breath to announce their name.

Caravans of wagons were pulled up the wide streets while their owners sold their looted items, shouting about how good a deal the items were to every unfortunate soul they passed. Alehouses and restaurants overflowed with a lunch rush; some carried drinks out of the houses and up the streets, sloshing against everyone who walked past as much as their drinks sloshed around in the mugs. Beggars crawled to passerbys, pleading for money that nobody would part with. Though buildings created a wall around the city, three gates were nestled between buildings, one gate each facing north, south, and east.

Aza stayed near Taka, too close for Taka's liking but she allowed it given the scowls that greeted them as they passed along the cobble streets of the city. Jino marched ahead of the women, eager to reach Rin and Obi quickly. Most street walkers were too preoccupied to notice Jino, but a few did and the whispers started. Taka distanced herself from Jino, tugging at Aza's arm to hold her back.

Without waiting for the women, Jino scoured the city for the leaders. He disappeared from Taka and Aza's line of sight and roamed the city solo. His four comrades left his mind soon after arriving on the island.

Beginning with the water from Taka's water orb, spiritual energy poured into him and strengthened with each step through the city. The energy's intensity increased until Jino's connection to the spirits ballooned too large and chakra brewed hotly inside him. Breathing in meditative inhales and exhales, Jino managed to control his chakra despite the spiritual energy drowning him. Once on the island, his mind whirled as every fleck of sand, every plant and animal, even the air vibrated with spiritual energy. At that moment, with his mind consumed by the energy, his comrades left his mind.

None of the pirates he passed seemed knowledgeable nor reliable, so he rapidly marched along each street, zig-zagging through the town, listening to clues as to Rin and Obi's location. All the conversation he heard consisted of who to rob, how much to sell stolen items for, or the best crew and ship to join.

Searching for a regal building proved to be a waste of time since all the buildings showed the pirates' poor care on their marred surfaces and were decorated by ripped banners. Pirates either stumbled from buildings or carried crates and sacks. Jino slipped between people and disappeared down alleys slyly with no one ever the wiser that he disappeared. Half a day of searching was fruitless.

"Should we take them on without Jino?" Aza asked.

Taka led them through market stalls and two ale houses with entrances on different streets. Each turn she made was confident, her memory in tact after five years away from the island, though she made haggard movements to match the pirates'.

"We'll be ok," Taka said. "Between you and I, we can take them. Remember, they don't bend. As long as you can handle whatever weapon they use, we'll be fine."

"I would feel more comfortable with Jino here," Aza said. "What if something else happens like that night in your house?"

"Then I'll be sure to get away from you as fast as possible." Taka pointed to a two-story structure standing between two run-dorn shops. "That's where they live. We're going in the back door. This way."

Still three blocks from the house, Taka turned toward the sea. Aza jogged to catch up. Docks ran the entire length of the shore where the town met the sea. Many buildings had entrances right on the docks for easy transportation from ship to shop. Shouted commands came off ships as captains ordered sailors about. As one spot opened on the docks multiple ships veered for it, nearly crashing but the large ships never collided.

Taka and Aza dodged around the pirates carrying supplies to the stores. Aza's steps were cautious but multiple times she was almost toppled by the pirates. Today proved to be as bright as yesterday, with not a cloud in the sky and a gentle sea with waves lapping soundlessly against the underside of the docks sounded beneath the pirates' shouts. The entirety of the docks butted directly to the stores and as far as Aza could see large boulders enclosing the end of the dock where the jungle began. Balconies hung above store entrances where families hung sheets to dry and store owners watched their goods carried across the dock.

"You two look lost," a pirate in a group of three yelled from near his ship.

He stood with two others all with scarred hands and wearing sweat-stained clothing. Their gazes didn't leave the two girls as they walked past their large ship.

"I was talking to you," the pirate said as the girls walked past without glancing at them. He reached for them but Taka ducked beneath his hand. "You want to play hard to get."

He lunged toward Taka but she punched a flat palm toward him. A spout of water shot through the dock and threw the pirate into the hull of his ship. He plunged into the water beneath.

"Benders," one of the other two pirates said. He pulled out his sword.

Taka pulled both her hands toward her stomach and a wave of water washed over the two pirates, then turned to ice.

"Benders! Benders!" Shouts spread across the docks and weapons were drawn around the two girls. Pirates wielding swords and spears circled the two girls in seconds.

"I've waited so long to let go," Taka said.

She stomped on the dock and threw her arms in the air. In a twenty foot radius the water from under the dock broke through the wood and formed around Taka in an orb that raised her to the balconies while eight water arms sprang from the giant orb. She stood atop it with only the bottom of her feet in the water. Aza floated near Taka's feet with only her head sticking out of the water orb. She gazed in awe as the eight arms reached simultaneously in every direction to pick up the pirates and throw them against the buildings and into the sea, clearing the path as the water orb crawled along the dock. Taka's arms flew around her body as she conducted the water creature beneath her like a maestro does an orchestra.

Two pirates jumped from a building's roof. A sheet of ice shot from the water orb to block them from reaching Taka and Aza, then an arm threw them back into town over the buildings. In the harbor ships struggled to turn and point their cannons at the water beast destroying the dock. With slews of pirates defeated as Taka's creation slithered up the dock, the remaining pirates kept their distance but brandished their weapons.

"Waterbender!" a woman yelled above the crowd.

Taka's head snapped toward the last few buildings along the dock. On the roof stood a woman and man, their weapons stowed but they wore smug expressions. In a fury Taka threw her hands downward. Her water beast dispersed, the water sweeping outward and freezing on each pirate it touched, immobilizing everyone except the two benders and the two pirates. Two pillars of water shot from beneath the dock to wrap around Taka's arms. They wiggled on the end like snakes.

"That's them," she said.

Aza followed her past the frozen pirates, flinching if she moved too close to one. Taka's footsteps were filled with confidence, quick-paced as she flew across the dock; Aza moved clumsily and kept her arms covering her body.

"Are you ready to die today?" Taka yelled up to the two pirates atop the building.

They grabbed the rope of a flagpole adjacent to the building and slip down it, raising a flag of crossbones attached the bottom of the rope. With a _thud_ they hit the wooden dock.

"We've been waiting for you to come back," Rin said. She pulled out dual swords. "How many of you are left for us to kill?" A green sash crossed her body and tucked into her otherwise brown clothing. A wide pirate cap sat on her head, though her companion wore a black bandana and a yellow sash crossing his body. He carried a spear with a blade on each end.

"I will be the one who walks away from this," Taka said.

She threw her extended water arms toward the pirates. Rin dodged and bolted toward Taka.

"Obi, take the other one," Rin yelled.

Her male counterpart darted at Aza. She shot out bursts of fire but Obi dodged each. Aza turned and ran toward the end of the dock with Obi close behind.

Zion followed a swift-moving Nin through the streets of the southern pirate city. A few vendors gave confused looks in their direction but most were preoccupied with selling their stolen goods.

"Do you remember your old home at all?" Zion asked when he caught up with her.

"Barely," Nin said. She was quiet for a moment. "Only my aunt and I escaped alive from the pirate's onslaught. I've tried to forget about my past."

They continued in silence but Zion marched as vigorously as Nin through the town's streets. To him the buildings all looked similar and making a right or left didn't change the view. Had Nin not been leading him, he would be lost in the maze of buildings. Despite Nin's blotched memory, she navigated the streets with confidence.

Zion refrained from prodding Nin further. Her short temper excited him but he feared what she would do if her anger grew too strong. Questions ran through his mind but he stumbled over each before any words crossed his lips: why was your family well known? was your aunt an earthbender too? did all the women in your family have the same short temper?

He almost ran into her when she stopped abruptly in front of a fountain where five streets merged. Long dried up, the cracking fountain centerpiece was Don and Gwu with their backs to each other and surrounded by small animals.

"That's a pretty fountain of your leaders," Zion said. "It's too bad it's cracked."

Nin stared at the fountain while Zion shifted next to her. Some of the animals were missing from the base of the fountain, and the carvings of the history of the island that decorated the bottom edges of the fountain were chipped away and parts of the base were destroyed completely. Even if water were in the fountain, it would drain out into the streets. Up one of the streets that ran the length of the town, at the far end was a second fountain of the battle-worn earthbender that remained on the roof with Don and Gwu. The memory of it flashed back in Nin's mind when she first saw the broken statue.

"My home is right over there," Nin pointed down the southeast street.

Zion led the way this time, with Nin struggling to keep up with him. The closer they grew to Nin's old home, the denser the vendors became until the streets bustled with so many people that Zion and Nin were split up. Uncertain which building they were heading for, Zion climbed on top of a crate to look for Nin but the crowd of brown and black clothing made everyone blend together. Zion abandoned the effort when nobody stood out from the rest of the crowd.

He weaseled his way through the crowd, colliding with everyone. He continued without stopping and shoved more to get through the street. One pirate reached for Zion's shoulder but he threw off the pirate's hand and disappeared into the crowd before he could be grabbed again.

"You're not doing a good job of making friends here, _stranger_ ," a pirate whispered into Zion's ear.

He stopped walking and spun to search for who had just whispered, but nobody paid him any attention. He scanned the face of each person in the market but each was preoccupied with bartering. When Zion stepped again, the voice returned.

"I suggest you leave before we make sure you never leave."

Zion reached behind him but grabbed two passing men that shoved him backwards into another pirate that shoved Zion back to the first two. They played pinball with Zion's body until Zion threw his hands up and shot a ring of fire toward the pirates. They jumped back but those in his immediate vicinity were burned.

"So you're a bender," the whispering voice said, this time loudly. "I wondered how you snuck into our town without any of our ships catching you. But you're a firebender." A tall man with an orange sash across his body and dressed in pristine clothing compared to his contemporaries emerged from the crowd with an Iguana Parrot on his shoulder. "How does a firebender sneak past us without help?"

Zion shot a fireball at him but the pirate whipped out his sword and deflected the fire upward, where it fizzled out.

"Firebenders are so predictable," he said.

The ground shook until the houses along one side of the street collapsed, swallowing the vendors who set up shop along the building's fronts.

"New clothes, Kashi?" Nin said. She stood on top of the rubble.

"An earthbender too," Kashi said. "How many of you are there, I wonder."

"My name is Nin Wun-Tah, reigning leader of the Wun-Tah family and keeper of the Spirit Mirrors. You have destroyed our home and tainted the spirits. Your punishment will now come down swiftly on your head."

"Kill them both," Kashi said with a wave of his hand.

The pirates in the streets unsheathed their weapons and lunged at Zion and Nin while Kashi strolled up the street, side-stepping rubble that blocked his path. Zion jumped and pounded a fist on the ground, spreading a wave of flame outward that forced the pirates to retreat and burned the closest ones. Rising he threw his arms around and sent whips of fire toward the pirates. He stood with his arms braced over his chest.

"I've been waiting for this. Who wants first try?"

As pirates ran toward him and more flames shot from his fists and feet, lighting the surrounded structures on fire, a few pirates clambered over the rubble to reach Nin. Before they maneuvered over the first destroyed pieces of building, Nin levitated bricks and shot them outward to knock out the closest pirates. She raised both arms together and a pillar of earth shot her in Kashi's direction. Pieces of brick rose to coat her arm, which she swung down on Kashi. He spun and blocked her blow with his wide, curved sword.

"So you want to attack me head on?" Kashi said.

He lunged forward and swung his sword, slicing Nin's shirt but she jumped backward to avoid being hit. He jabbed at Nin but she slid him back on the ground with earthbending. She stomped on the ground causing ten earth spikes to rise diagonally toward Kashi. He swiped at each, breaking some and dodging others, his sword remaining unbroken against the earth. She stomped to raise three pieces of earth and sent them rocketing at Kashi, but he dodged those and cut one with his sword on his way to charge at Nin.

Other pirates joined the fray and attacked Nin from behind. Before they reached her a whip of fire wrapped around them and pulled them back toward Zion. Nin rose a wall of rock between her and Kashi, but his sword jabbed through it, reaching inches from her body. Nin stomped and punched the wall, sending it and Kashi flying backward until it crumbled on Kashi. He rose from the pieces of it heavily scarred.

"Clever trick attacking with your defense," Kashi said. He raised his sword, which he moved with ease despite its vastness. "You're not the only one with improved tricks." He pointed the sword at Nin. "I will kill you with this sword. And then I'm going for that firebender."

Behind Nin, Zion piled the number of pirates he eliminated around him, though his movements grew fatigued. With every pirate he removed, another pirate found their way through the city and to the fight. A pirate broke through Zion's defense and his sword found Zion's leg. Zion blasted away the pirate with a stream of fire but slouched to the ground to recover. With the sheer number of pirates, he understood why the benders lost.

Taka leaped backwards onto the sea, the water freezing into ice beneath her feet so she didn't sink. Rin stayed on the dock with her swords brandished. Both women breathed deeply from their scuffle. In spite of the ice Taka used to fight with, Rin's swords were unscathed. In the harbor the ships finally maneuvered and fired a few rounds of cannonballs at Taka, but she raised ice pillars to stop them. A few flew past her and created large holes in the docks near Rin. They quickly stopped firing and sent rowboats loaded with their crews to aid Rin. Taka raised a long wall of ice to stop the support from coming.

"Afraid to come back on the docks?" Rin teased. "I'll make it a quick death."

Taka screamed and ran back onto the dock, her water arms growing longer as more sea water accumulated on them. Rin repositioned her body with her swords pointed at Taka. Each slice of Rin's swords cut off a piece of Taka's water arms until they were the same length as her real arms. Taka ran back to gather more water from beneath the docks. Unwilling to give her time to recover, Rin ran toward her. Taka moved her arm in a figure eight, creating a thin blade sticking out from her arm, moving in the air to keep Rin at bay. Meeting the ice blade, Rin slashed with her swords to cut it, slowing her progress.

With her ice blade nearly gone, Taka gathered enough water and formed ice armor. Two more streaks of water rose from beneath the dock and stuck out as spikes from Taka's back. With Rin mere feet away, Taka shot ice pellets from her ice armor toward Rin. Her swords blocked most of them but a few skittered past and tore at Rin's clothes and her skin, leaving gashes.

Angered, she charged the last few feet toward Taka. A beam of ice shot from Taka's body. Rin spun with her swords like a windmill protruding from her body; they cut through the ice beam easily. Rin was within a foot of Taka, her blades about to crash on Taka's arm. Before that happened, Taka stomped on the dock and a pillar of water as large as a building sprouted, engulfing the two women and throwing them skyward.

Aza threw occasional fireballs at Obi while running from him. Without looking, her throws missed and did nothing to slow his pursuit of her. She turned into the city and ran between streets, which were near empty after all the pirates attacked Taka on the docks. Obi leaned back to reel back his arm, his spear pointed upward. He released the spear and it barreled through the air, arching down toward Aza running away, still throwing blind fireballs behind her body. A burst of air knocked the spear from the sky as it neared Aza.

Obi ran to pick up the spear. Jino stood at the end of the street a few houses up. Aza only saw him when she ran into him.

"I'll take care of him," Jino said. "You can go."

"Where am I supposed to go?" Aza said. "What about the pirates?"

"Most of the pirates in town are unconscious," Jino said. "If you're too weak to deal with the few that I didn't, then you shouldn't be here anyway."

He stepped toward Obi, leaving Aza tearing behind him. She ran up a street littered with unconscious pirates, flames sparking from her fingertips as her emotions raged.

"Let's hope you're more of a threat than that girl," Obi said. He held his spear jutting out in front of his body.

"You pirates will pay for destroying this spiritual land," Jino said.

"Why do you care about this useless place? We were going to burn it down before we left to rid the world of such a sore."

Jino screamed and spun, slashing both hands toward Obi. Two razors of air shot at the pirate, but he sliced them with his spear. Once the air razors were destroyed, he charged Jino. Sending air punches at the attacking pirate, Jino leaped backward until his back hit a building. Obi swung his spear in motions leading from one swirl to another to fend off the incoming bursts of air. Each step accompanied a swish of his spear as he approached Jino.

Twirling his fingers, Jino threw a small tornado that grew when it left his hands and swirled toward Obi. He then jumped to the roof. Obi tossed his spear through the tornado and pierced Jino's loose shirt, sticking him to the building halfway up. The tornado threw Obi against a stack of crates.

Unable to remove the spear from the wall, Jino shot air from his hands and feet against the wall, tearing the back off the shirt. He flew into the streets as his tornado disappeared. A ripple of disturbed air fluttered across his bald head; Jino ducked to avoid Obi's punch from behind. Jino shot a flat palm of air at Obi to push him backward. Without Obi's spear in his hand, Jino's confidence rose.

"Damn airbenders," Obi said. "It's been awhile since I've killed an airbender."

Jino jumped to a thin pole that had fallen. Though not equipped with blades like Obi's spear, the pole reminded him of the air gliders. He spun the end and a twisting stream of air sprouted from it, moving toward Obi. The pirate pulled two knives with blades barely the size of his hands from holders strapped to the back of his belt. He spun with the knives held out. They sliced the spinning air tunnel, redirecting the air. Jino jumped but Obi threw a knife that struck Jino's pant; the knife's weight pulled down the airbender with a _thud_.

"You're pretty much as I remember airbenders," Obi said. "It's a shame our fight was cut so short. I would've liked to refine my skills. Maybe we'll move next to one of your islands and take over an Airbending Temple." Obi was an arm's reach from Jino.

The airbender whipped the pole around to create a gust but Obi easily cut through the pole with his remaining knife. He bent down with the knife at Jino's chest.

"Say hello to Don and Gwu for me," Obi said.

"NOOOOO!" Aza screeched from up the street.

Obi looked in her direction. Aza collapsed to the ground in agony. As she hit the dirt, a burst of fire shot from her in a circle, lighting ablaze the buildings. It crossed the area between the pirate and Aza too quickly for the pirate to respond; it knocked him backward and away from Jino. The burst of flame continued to spread through the buildings until it reached the city's edges. The entire city burned, polluting the sky with smoke that blocked out the sun. With each of Aza's sobs in the street, the flames grew bigger and hotter.

Jino ripped his pants free of the knife stuck in the ground. Standing amid the flames and collapsing buildings, he searched for Aza but couldn't see her in the haze of heat. A searing pain spread through his back and sent his body barreling forward. Obi stood over him, bloodied and scratched from the explosion.

"Damn firebender," Obi said. "I'll kill her after you."

Jino inhaled deeply then breathed out a stream that pushed Obi into the air and into a burning building that collapsed as Obi landed in it. The burst slid Jino on his back across the road into a pile of trash. He stumbled up with sweat pouring off his head as the air grew thicker with smoke and weighed him down. Coughing and squinting through the flames, Jino wandered between flame-drenched buildings, screaming Aza's name. He tried leaping upward but between the smoke and Obi's punch he couldn't gather enough force to push himself off the ground.

From up a street with buildings fallen into it, the flames grew and shrank as if they breathed. Jino limped toward them.

Taka raised her arms covered with water and exhaled icy breath, raising the water to cover the dock as ice. She ran across the ice sure-footed while Rin slipped trying to form a fighting stance. She stuck a sword into the ice to steady herself, then pushed toward Taka.

Bending low, Taka threw water forward and created an ice ramp over Rin's head. She skidded over it and Rin, but the pirate stuck her sword through the ice, slicing the side of Taka's foot. She fell off the ramp but threw her other water arm at Rin as ice shards that ripped at Rin's arms; the pirate's attempt to block them with her swords was pointless. Some of the ice shards stuck in her right arm, making it useless and limp.

Taka watched Aza and Obi disappeared into the city. _I hope she'll survive._ Taka pulled water from beneath the dock onto her arms again. She froze ice around her leg and foot, then slid across the icy dock. Rin faced her with one sword raised. Taka sent water whips at Rin but the pirate cut them all, her swings not wasting any energy or motion.

Sprinting along the ice, Taka ran around Rin, throwing ice spears at her. Rin sliced through those as easily as if they were air. Taka planted her feet and slammed her hands on the ground. A series of ice spikes rose in succession, growing toward Rin at rapid speeds. The pirate dove across the ice and out of the spike's path. She threw her sword at Taka, who rose her arms and created an ice wall halfway between them to intercept the weapon; the sword easily cut through the wall and continued sailing toward Taka. The waterbender jumped from the sword's path. When she looked up, Rin ran toward her with the other one of the dual swords in her hand.

Feet from Rin, the ground shook and crash after crash resounded from the city. Rin stopped her charge to gaze at the city and a warmth glazed across the docks. Taka curled into a ball and an orb of water froze around her. Rin stepped back. A blast of fire spread out from the city, demolishing buildings as it grew and blasting Rin off the dock while throwing Taka's water orb and herself into the harbor.

With the initial blast over, Taka released her water orb and floated on the water. Looking up, she saw the city in flame: all the remaining buildings billowed smoke and fire while most crumbled into piles. All the closest ships burned on the water, their surviving crew jumping off. She was certain anyone in the city was dead, and wondered if that meant Aza was dead, too.

First she had to finish with Rin. She struggled to rise with her bruised body from the fire blast. Walking on the water, she searched the harbor for Rin but only saw pirates swimming for boats farther from the docks and the savage fire. She limped across the water, her bending sometimes weakening and her foot disappeared beneath the surface. A pirate swarm toward her with a sword in his hand, but she flicked her hand a large wave carried him away.

A hand wrapped around her ankle from beneath the surface and dragged her under. In her shock, her waterbending faltered and she struggled against the hand. A blade ran across her leg and she let out her remaining air. In desperation she stretched out her arms and spun her body. A whirlpool formed around her and spun her upwards with the hand still clinging to her leg. Once above water, the whirlpool flung herself and Rin-who let go of Taka's ankle-onto the burning dock.

Rin no longer wielded either of her swords but she pulled herself to her hands and knees to search the dock for Taka. The waterbender flopped onto her back, unable to move her leg sliced in multiple spots. Her blurred vision slowly cleared while Rin crawled toward her. Taka froze a pillar of ice around her bloody leg and used her bending to push herself to stand with ice crutches.

Fire burned around the two women, melting the ice that previously covered the dock. Large sections of dock were burned or crushed in the harbor with broken wood sticking up like spikes. Sweat poured down both women's faces in the heat from the burning ships while smoke and dust clung to their skin from the crumbling buildings.

Taka swirled the end of one crutch in the air toward Rin. The water beneath Rin froze around her in a block of ice. Taka fumbled toward her until she stood feet from the pirate. Rin's frightened eyes glared at her through the ice. Taka dropped a crutch and rose an arm into the air. A spire of water rose behind her.

"This is payback for killing my entire family," Taka said. Tears and anger poured from her. The water spire spun like a drill. Taka threw it at the ball of ice encasing Rin.

Kashi's swords swung through every stone wall Nin summoned, throwing the broken earth back at her. She grew a pillar of earth beneath her to shoot her backwards as Kashi's sword slashed through the pillar; Nin landed three storefronts away. Kashi ran towards her. Nin swiped her foot along the ground and pushed a hand away from her body: the earth between her and Kashi morphed into quicksand.

Seeing her movements, Kashi lunged at the closest building and stuck his sword in its front to hold him above the ground. In the street barrels and crates sank into the sand slowly with abandoned carts and stands. Kashi pushed off the storefront as Nin shot two large boulders at him and landed on a sinking crate. He jumped between objects, avoiding the multiple stones thrown by Nin and using his sword to demolish those he couldn't avoid. He landed next to Nin but she dodged his sword and pushed him away from her using earthbending.

"Stop running and face me," Kashi said.

"Did you kill the Wun-Tah family?" Nin said.

Kashi remained on his toes but used the break to catch his breath: he wasn't the young pirate he was when they first attacked this forsaken island. Had Obi and Rin not been so adamant about it, they would have avoided it altogether. Alas, a pirate has their pride, and he refused to relinquish control of something he conquered.

"Yes. Their family home rose above the city and served as a perfect location to watch the harbor from. They were your family?"

Nin stomped her legs apart and rose her hands half-clenched into the air. The ground shook but was inaudible beneath her scream. Kashi lost his footing, nearly falling into the quicksand to his right. He leaped across the street with his sword outstretched toward Nin as she pulled her hands downward: the buildings around them collapsed onto the street and buried the two.

Zion watched from afar as the buildings swallowed the pirate and Nin. He attempted to run toward them but the pirates blocked his path. He swung whips of flame to clear the path but the pirates continued to block him. They lunged behind him and threw daggers from all angles. Zion evaded them all but faltered when an explosion from the north distracted everyone in the scuffle. Taking advantage of the distracted pirates, he shot a jet stream of flame and broke through the pirate barricade.

As he bolted toward the pile of rubble covering Nin and Kashi, the pirates gave chase, ignoring the billowing black cloud rising from the north. Before Zion ran too near the rubble, each building lining the street fell inward to crush everything still in the city. Zion changed directions and ran back toward the pirates, who also turned about-face when the domino of buildings continued.

Zion kicked fire from his feet to propel him forward. He ran over pirates and knocked over others, quickly reaching the front of the hoard as the collapsing buildings reached the back of the sprinting crowd. His energy faded and his fire-boosted sprint slowed. With each step more pirates were crushed beneath the buildings and the crowd behind him grew smaller until he felt pebbles falling on his head. Looking up, cracks spread up the storefronts and more rubble fell on him. Only a handful of pirates still ran behind him and none heeded him any attention.

He burst from between the buildings onto a small grassy area with two pirates as the last building crumbled onto the street. Collapsed on the ground, the three looked back at the city but nothing remained except a large expanse of rocks and graves.

Zion heaved himself onto his knees through deep breaths as smoke and dust rose into the sky and flakes of sun broke through the cloud of dust. In the harbor the ships let loose rowboat after rowboat of reinforcements, but when the entire city collapsed in on itself, the rowboats stopped and the pirates gazed in amazement at their demolished home.

To Zion's left the two surviving pirates stirred and flipped onto their back to admire the wreckage of their city. Struggling to stand as well, they pulled themselves up with their swords and faced Zion, whose focus was solely on the wrecked city and the loss of Nin.

Exhausted as much as Zion, the pirates wavered on either side of him, their swords barely held up by shaky hands. Zion held a hand on both sides of him pointed at each pirate. They lunged at the firebender-tripping and collapsing at Zion's feet-as he shot weak fireballs at his opponents. Their swords caught Zion's legs and his fireballs hit the pirate's chests. All three fell in a heap, struggling for breath and life.

Behind the pirates' ships, Don and Gwu stood on a flat raft with no sail that sailed toward the island regardless. Before the raft stretched a swarm of pirate ships pointed toward the island. Don raised a hand and every animal in the sea attacked the ships, demolishing them so they sank and then dragging the pirates down with them. Don and Gwu's raft casually sailed around the animals.

Landing on a sandy part of the shore away from the docks, Don and Gwu placed their bare feet on the earth. Animal roars erupted across the island like thunder.

"We're home."


	3. Chapter 3: Sanctuary

Don meandered through the wreckage of the southern city, the rubble moving out of his path with a gentle wave of Gwu's hand at his side. Their footsteps were silent on the dirt but the city debris moved loudly to announce their presence. Little of the city remained upright: a few buildings' bases and random doors still standing in frames with no building. Tangled with the demolished city were dead pirates.

Armadillo lions, bull antelopes, elephant mandrills, platypus bears, and hundreds of other animals emerged from the forest bordering the ruins, melding together in a stream behind Don and Gwu. No birds followed the two. The longer Don and Gwu were on the island, the louder the animal cries grew and the larger the herd became until the animals outnumbered the pirates that used to live in the rubble city.

Where Kashi's house once stood, Don and Gwu stopped to gleam at the collapsed structure. Gwu waved her hand slowly over the destroyed house.

"So much evil existed here. The earth cries with blood that was spilled."

Behind her the animals burst with cries that drowned the waves along the shore and the shifting rubble from other buildings whose remnants burned.

"There is life still on the island," Don said, "end it."

The animals sprinted away from the two beings, quickly covering the city and spreading across the island. Near the edge of the city flew bursts of fire into the air, driving the animals back. They circled around the source but were unable to capture its source.

"They are in need of help," Gwu said, leaving Don to find the fire.

Don stepped carefully around the rubble, his steps slow but wide as he explored the city and meandered toward the shore. His blue robes never dirtied as they dragged along the ruin and his steps were always sure-footed. He observed each destroyed house he passed and searched for life beneath its demolished pieces. Faintly he sensed a dying presence but finding it in the destruction around him proved difficult.

Through some half-standing buildings the sea was visible and with it the white crests of waves, and beyond that the sinking pirate ships burned as the creatures of the sea finished what the benders hadn't earlier. Don detested relying on humans for anything but with their influence controlling the island Don's power waned; waiting for humans to do what he couldn't was his only option.

They were reliable in rare instances, and luckily this instances worked out in his favor. When he and Gwu were driven off the island 5 years earlier, taking refuge with the benders that lived in the mountains, it was a simple matter for them to alter the humans' minds to convince them that Don and Gwu were their leaders. Unfortunately Don and Gwu were unable to escape Shen's presence following them, and the humans' minds were altered to believe they had three leaders. It was a simple matter of suggestion over a few months to encourage the humans to not follow Shen. Humans were such weak creatures.

A pillar of earth rose diagonally at Don, crushing his chest and tossing him backward into rubble. He stood, unscathed.

Nin sat leaning against a collapsed pillar, one arm limp at her side, her legs buried beneath broken stone, and her face scratched and bloodied. She opened her fist twice and another pillar shot at Don, though he mostly dodged this one, only getting caught on the edge of his arm.

"Pesky humans," Don said.

He strolled toward Nin, poorly dodging more pillars of earth that shot toward him. With each attempt to hit him, the next earth pillar's intensity lessened until they barely emerged from the ground. Don knelt next to Nin. She drew ragged breaths as tears streamed down her face from the pain of broken ribs.

"Such a weak vessel," Don said.

"We should have never trusted you," Nin said.

"Humans are such stupid creatures," Don said. "You were a feisty one, though. I will miss you."

Nin's eyes followed Don as he walked away, leaving her against the pillar. She tried earth bending but her body was too weak as her last breaths left her body.

At the shore Don breathed in the salty air and all manner of animals living in the sea found their way to the shore, polluting the water with all types of fish and animals until there was no room between them. Some jumped from the water while others splashed until the expanse of sea before Don was nothing but thrashing and slapping of water.

Near the edge of the rubble was the circle of animals around weak bursts of fire. They sputtered out mere feet from Zion's bloody arms but kept the animals at bay. Zion spewed fire at the ground, setting ablaze the remnants of grass in a circle around himself. Animals tried leaping through the flames but Zion fed the flames whenever an animal grew brave.

Across the threshold of flames, animals neighed and roared and thrashed about, causing chaos and a deafening sound that shook Zion to the core. He pulled his legs toward his body and sat on the ground, hoping the flames would keep the animals at bay and the crackling sound would muffle their ferocity; the latter didn't work. Ignoring his shaking body and pounding head, he closed his eyes and strained his breathing to normalize. He knew if he could manage his breathing, he could control the flames with each breath, and that would use up his energy far slower than using his chi.

Gwu approached with steps that even in silence would have been quieter, her blue robes dragging on the ground behind her. The animals separated at her approach, quieting and bowing. When she reached the flames, her fingers flicked upward and water bubbles from the earth extinguished the flames.

"Help me," Zion begged. With the animals closing in on him as the fire sizzled out, his fear intensified and his chi was nearly used up.

Gwu swished a finger at Zion and the animals attacked. Before they reached him, a powerful burst of air berated them from above, flattening them to the earth and halting their assault. Gwu struggled against the burst of air. Above was the battle-worn man that had been on the roof with them under the Ruppa Mountains.

"Shen, why?" she accused under the pressure of air.

"This is not how it should be, Gwu," the man said, landing next to Zion, who was unaffected as a small circle of still air surrounded him. "We are not killers."

"We are here to protect the animals!" Gwu said.

"We are here to protect all living things," Shen said. He picked up Zion and flew off, his weary demeanor he held under the Ruppa Mountains no longer restraining him.

Gwu shrieked as the air returned to normal and Shen flew away with Zion toward the Ganji Mountains in the center of the island.

"I want them dead," Gwu said.

Fueled by her rage, the animals let out cries and roars fiercer than any previously as they gave chase to Shen and Zion.

As the animals departed her, Gwu sat on the ground in the middle of the charred earth, where Zion had been moments before. The muddy earth enveloped her legs curled beneath her, and she stared at the scorch marks curiously but longingly. She reached out hesitantly, her fingers hovering above the burned earth. She set her hand on it and breathed in deeply. The pain the island and mountains endured since the pirates' capture of them and the death of the animals at the hands of the pirates seared into Gwu's mind. She wept as she felt all their pain and suffering, and guilt riddled her for not acting before now.

Another feeling crept into her; joy from the animals at being around benders before the pirates. She started at this feeling, at an animal's joy when living with people. She cried tears of happiness upon learning of the animals' joy. As her tears fell to the ground, fresh grass grew in seconds, replacing the scorched earth field into a pleasant meadow.

Don hushed the animals, then spoke in a voice that magnified across the water, "Spread across the seas and destroy every ship you see. Humans have too long decimated your home and drove you from it. We will eradicate them and return this world to you."

A three-foot thick wall of ice rose ten feet along the coast, freezing some animals in it while others were half-frozen, half free. Don stared at the ice wall passively.

"Why?" Taka asked through deep breaths. "Why are you doing this? You were our protector."

"I used your people to reclaim this island, which had been doused in evil spirits while the pirates controlled it," Don said, turning to Taka as she clambered from behind crates. "Do not stand in my way. Humans are too weak to resist my will."

He snapped his fingers and the four animals that managed to make it to this side of the ice wall leaped from the water toward Taka. She spun and threw streams of water at the mid-air animals, throwing them against the wall to knock them unconscious. She fell against a crate, propping herself up on its side.

"What are you?" she asked, the last of her energy nearly spent. Near her was the base of what had been a block of ice.

"We are the source of life in the material world. We are life and death, the Giver and the Taker. We are water, earth, and air. We are the Creators and the Destroyers. We are what brought life into this world."

"You're a spirit," Taka whispered.

"Yes, and you humans have ruined the world for our creations!" Don yelled. "Animals flourished before you humans took over. Gwu and I have watched them suffer for far too long. It is time they took their place back as rulers of this world."

"You are evil."

"Silly woman," Don said, " _you_ are evil. Can you not feel the animals' pain, hear their cries every night as they struggle to survive? Do you not feel the negative spiritual energy this island and the world has been releasing since humans took over? Now take down the ice wall or I will have to kill you."

"Spirits aren't supposed to kill humans," Taka said. "We're meant to work together. How did you even come here from the spirit world?"

"Gwu, Shen, and I crossed-"

"Who's Shen?"

"The third spirit that you all blindly followed when your island was overrun."

"Are he and Gwu here as well?"

"Humans really are out of touch with their spiritual side. Ever since we crossed over from the spirit world only a few avatars ago, we have witnessed humans distancing themselves from the spirits more and more. This island was once full of spiritual energy, a place where those enlightened could easily cross into the spirit world for a short time, but in recent years it has become nothing but a wasteland."

"Let us rebuild it," Taka said. "Now that the pirates are gone, we can fix this island. You don't have to kill all humans to make the world balanced again."

The earth shook around the duo as a crack grew in the earth, running deep into the island. "But I do."

Taka flung her hand toward Don and the ice block flew at him quicker than he could respond.

Shen landed with ease after coasting through the air and around the inner mountains, rising and falling gently with no wings, no glider. Zion stared at his savior in awe, terrified and inspired. The man landed softly as if he had been walking on air and the land was simply another path for him to traverse. He laid Zion down gently. The firebender couldn't move, his energy spent after defending himself from Gwu's animal's. Next to him laid another person though he was too weak to raise his head to see who.

"You survived," Aza said, running from out of his field of vision and embracing him like a predator from above. Zion groaned in pain.

"How-how did you survive? I thought everyone died." He wept as Aza held him, ignoring the pain because nothing felt as amazing as being in Aza's arms.

"Jino and I tried fighting those pirates but we were overwhelmed and I, I, I, I, I lost control." She broke down, holding Zion tighter as she cried, her body heaving against his.

"Is Jino…"

"He's alive but barely," Aza said. "He's lying next to you." She breathed deeply, controlling her tears. "When I lost control, the city was destroyed. As the buildings fell in on me, Jino appeared and tried airbending a sphere to protect us but he couldn't sustain it. I blacked out and when I woke up I was lying next to Jino on the ground and Shen was flying away."

She went quiet as Shen stared, his weak posture replaced with confidence and strength. "I rescued them from the collapsing rubble and brought them here so they could heal quicker."

Zion tried looking around but moving his neck hurt. "It feels so...full...here."

Shen nodded. "This is one of the most spiritual places in the Earth Kingdom. The spiritual energies will help you heal even without a healer, though I'm uncertain if you will survive."

The trio was quiet as Jino's ragged breaths filled the air, the wind around them growing when he exhaled.

"I must go now," Shen said. He lifted into the air but stopped as Aza quipped.

"Please save Taka and Nin," she pleaded.

"Only one of your friends will be saved today," Shen said. "I can do nothing for the second."

He flew off, leaving Aza and Zion alone on the mountain top. Zion tried rolling over but the weakness from his used-up chi and his worn body made it impossible. Aza attempted to help him and he accepted her help, rolling just far enough to see Jino's torn airbender clothing and bruised body bleeding next to him. Zion sobbed so Aza laid him on his back again.

"Where did we go wrong? What happened that we couldn't protect him?"

"We did what we could," Aza said.

"He's not dead yet." Zion didn't believe himself as he said it.

"The Fire Sages will be furious with us," Aza said. "We were supposed to go on this mission to show unity between our nations. What will happen if we come back with a dead monk and no promise of the Air Nomads being able to settle on this island?"

Zion was quiet as the two firebenders cried and pondered their fate.

After a while, Aza spoke, "This place does feel spiritual. Since Shen brought us here, I've felt my energy returning faster than ever and my firebending hasn't felt like I've had to cage it but rather like it's supposed to feel within me." She opened her hand and a flame flickered to life, hovering above her palm. "It's so soothing here. Firebending is so easy here, so natural, so easy to control. Is this how it feels for you?"

Zion tried lifting his hand to close around Aza's but his energy was spent. As Aza's fire grew, his inner flame struggled to stay ignited and shrank with each breath Aza's fire inhaled. He stared at the woman once afraid to firebend and now dancing the flame along her fingers. Wonder consumed her eyes as the fire leapt easily around her hand, following the commands of her fingers and wrist, growing and shrinking with her breath. Years of burning buildings with her uncontrollable firebending, unable to produce a flame, envious of the 4- and 5-year old children producing flames in their kindergarten classes. He shed a tear at seeing Aza's confidence blossom for the first time and at his breath shortening.

As he breathed his last breath, the flame in Aza's hand shot two feet into the air. Distracted by her bending feat, Aza didn't look down at her friend's corpse. Instead she felt a warmth spread through he fingertips and up her arm, down into her stomach. The feeling mixed with her chi in her stomach, strengthening her grasp of the fire she held. With her chi no longer feeling her own but a mixture of hers and another's, all worry of losing control of her firebending disappeared.

"I've never felt so in control," she said. "Zion, can you believe that I'm doing this? Can you believe that I'm bending and not hurting anyone?"

She extinguished the flame and looked at her comrade lying on the ground, his eyes closed. She thought of how peaceful he looked while he slept, of how she remembered spending summers along the ocean shore with Zion, falling asleep beneath willow trees for shade as the sun warmed the Fire Nation island. She missed those days when their worries ended at making it to class the next day.

She nudged his shoulder and called his name but he remained still. His body lacked the warmth it held from his inner fire burning like a beacon of hope. She shook his shoulders harder but he still didn't stir. Leaning closer to him, he lacked the breath warmed by his inner fire and he lacked the warmth emanating from his body that always warmed her. She placed her hand on his chest, searching for a heartbeat and for his chi to flow through his body but she felt nothing.

As she screamed a towering inferno burst from her mouth and rose taller than the surrounding trees.

Almost back to the shore, Shen felt her rage behind him and felt the heat from the inferno tower.

Don struggled to rise as his body was weakened by the ice block thrown by Taka. With their master injured, the animals riled toward Taka but dared not approach her, Don's fear of her conquering their minds.

Taka created a water cane to help her stand as her body fought off the fatigue from the damage she endured from her battle with Rin. A surprise burst of energy surged through her body to give her the strength to stand up to Don when she thought all her energy was spent. Thankful for whatever revitalized her, she stood with her body shrunk on itself to better defend herself if Don or the animals attacked.

"You will regret attacking a Spirit, _human_ ," Don said.

He directed his anger at Taka and though the animals shared his feelings they didn't attack the waterbender. He directed them verbally to attack but they still stood back in a large circle around he and Taka, staring at the waterbender but doing nothing.

"Do as I say, my children, and attack the waterbender!" Don yelled.

"They will not attack," Gwu said as she wandered through a path the animals parted to create.

Don rounded on his counterpart. "What are you doing, Gwu?"

The female spirit calmly walked past Don and approached Taka. The waterbender turned her crutch into an ice spear pointed at Gwu.

"I am not here to harm you," Gwu said sincerely.

Standing next to the spirit, Taka realized just how tall the spirits were, towering three feet over her. Gwu placed her hand on Taka's head and Taka's body felt revitalized as the pain from her wounds lessened and her chi returned.

"How can you help the humans?" Don said. "They have destroyed this sanctuary we created for our children."

"This sanctuary was meant as a place for all beings to coexist," Gwu said. "Parts of this island are inhabited by humans but most of it still belongs to the animals." She faced Don squarely on. "We are not meant to meddle in the affairs to humans and animals. We brought animals into this world and we must let them figure out how to survive. Eradicating humans will not bring an end to the suffering of animals. In the place of humans, more threats will rise and animals will always be in danger. We cannot play Protector until the end of time.

"When was the last time you communed with animals? I have not done so since we crossed into the physical world. Like you, I ignored them and only watched from afar, watching what I thought was humans ruling animals but was instead humans communing with animals. When I battled the firebender, I felt the animals' feelings. There wasn't anger but instead happiness. Humans learned to live with animals rather than controlling them. Animals are happy living with humans. We were wrong about how animals felt."

"That was a trick of the firebender's," Don said. "Animals hate humans."

As he yelled an earthquake rumbled under the island, growing in intensity as he stepped near Gwu. Her demeanor changed as he challenged her and the sea behind her rose into a tsunami. As the spirits were about to strike a tornado fell from the sky like a shower of boulders, flattening the tsunami and silencing the earthquake. In place of the tornado stood Shen staring at Don.

"What have you come to?" he asked. "When did you stop listening to your other half?"

With her strength returned, Taka no longer needed the ice crutch. She bent the water in her pouches on her waist and hid behind Gwu.

"Listen to Gwu and reach out to the animals," Shen said. "It is time we start listening to the world again. We have been disconnected from it for far too long."

Don stared between Gwu and Shen, his rage still boiling but he conceded that against them both, he was powerless. He cursed the waterbender standing behind Gwu and the dead pirates around the island, at his creations who betrayed him by befriending humans. With the pain he felt in the earth from the humans, he marveled at how the animals were not hurt to the same degree.

"I cannot stay here and watch the humans continue to trample on the sanctuary we built for our animals," Don said, "but we cannot return to the spirit world now that we have given up our immortality to join the mortal world."

"There is another solution but he is dying," Shen said. He raised a hand in the air and small tornadoes carried the three spirits and Taka. "I will show you."

Back on the mountaintop, Aza no longer sobbed over Zion but she remained motionless by his side while the spirits and Taka landed. The waterbender burst into tears upon seeing Zion dead and Jino lying motionless next to him. She joined Aza in defeat on the ground while the spirits stood unmoved above them.

"For too long we stopped listening to the humans and only focused on our goals," Shen said. "This airbender was sent to find a location for a 4th air temple. He took on the challenge of dispelling the pirates in the hope of being able to build a new air temple here. Now that he has done what we could not, he is dying and we seek to kill more humans. What are we doing as spirits if death is the result of our meddling in the mortal world?"

Gwu approached Jino and knelt by his side, placing a hand on his chest. "He will not live much longer."

"There is a solution to your dilemma and to saving this young airbender's life," Shen said, staring at Don's back.

"How dare you even suggest that," Don said. "It is not our place to purposefully create a Spirit Portal."

"It is our place if the time is appropriate," Shen said.

"If two of us create the portal, the third can close it," Gwu said. "The energy released will return life to this airbender."

Shen nodded, "And then the airbenders living here will protect the Portal and keep it hidden from the rest of the world."

"I will not trust a Spirit Portal to a group of humans," Don said defiantly.

"Who do you think is charged with protecting the Portals at the North and South Poles?" Shen said. "There will always be humans guarding the Portals. It is how the mortal world functions."

Don stared at Taka and Aza on the ground grieving over their fallen comrade. He approached them slowly and touched Taka's shoulder. Her grief washed through his body like it was his blood, shoving his anger out and replacing it with the deep compassion she felt for Zion and Jino. He removed his hand from her, not wanting to drown in the emotion she experienced.

"I have news of your other comrade, the earthbender," Don said with his head hung. "She died fighting the pirates."

Don didn't need to touch the two humans to feel their sadness; it pierced the air and gut punched the spirit. Don nodded at Shen.

"Are you ready to create the Portals?"

Taka and Aza watched the spirits carry Jino's body toward a mid-point on the mountainside where the mountain leveled out to a plateau. Taka left Aza next to Zion and went to the mountain's edge to watch the spirits. As she did, animals from across the island approached the plateau and stood next to Taka to watch the spirits.

Lying Jino between them, the three spirits circled around the airbender as the animals began to cry long wails that turned into a song. Light emanated from their bodies until it became blinding and Taka was forced to look away. A radiant beam shot into the sky directly over Jino's body, delving deep into the earth. It grew in diameter until it encompassed the small plateau, and in an instant it was gone, as were the spirits but Jino's body remained.

Taka looked down expectantly and saw Jino struggling to sit up, his strength returned. Weeping she created an ice sled from her pouches and slid down to Jino, where she wrapped him in her arms, much to the airbender's confusion. Next to them was an opening and surrounding the plateau were large boulders with writing referencing the three spirits that created the portal. From deep within the hole, Jino felt a pulse of spiritual energy where the Spirit Portal sat closed.

"What happened?" he asked.

Taka helped him stand. "We have to go back to Aza," Taka said. "I'll explain everything when we sit down somewhere."

Atypical from his peoples' usual reaction, Jino was nearly unphased by the extreme loss of life from their assault on the pirates. With Taka hiding around the corner when Jino thought nobody was around, she thought she heard him cry but when she rounded the corner he stood tall without a sign of sadness on his face. Taka pried but Jino lacked empathy for the dead.

The next two weeks were spent exploring and mapping the island. Jino painted long streaks for the island's shores and depicted mountains of varying heights with different markings that meant nothing to Taka but everything to Jino's people. He sent daily messages via hawks to the other airbending temples, calling for more monks to join him. He stressed the island's perfect location and geography for the fourth air temple. Some hawks were sent to the leaders of the other nations, asking them to convene on the eastern shore of the earth kingdom to create treaties to make this island and the surrounding islands sovereign Air Nomad territory.

Aza stayed near the shore north of the demolished cities while her comrades explored the island. The most difficult part of the two weeks was what to do with all the bodies and rubble that littered the island. Refusing to allow so many souls to rest without a proper grave, Taka dug graves herself while Jino explored the island and Aza watched zombie-like. Only a few digs into the first hole and an army of animals appeared. Taka prepared herself to fight but the animals helped to dig, moving bodies into the graves and releasing wails when they covered them back up. Within a week there was no sign that a massacre had occurred other than the mounds of fresh earth.

Zino was burned atop the mountain in a ceremony honoring the traditions of the Fire Nation. His ashes were left to blow in the high mountain winds and carried across the island to wherever they settled. Aza had since spoken a handful of times and spent all day sitting near the shore, staring at the sea and crying. She hadn't firebent since lighting the flame that incinerated Zion's body.

Unempathetic to his friend, Jino avoided Aza to fulfill his duty of mapping the island and preparing it for the other airbenders' arrival. With the maps completed, Jino soared on his air glider around the island to explore parts in depth, leaving Taka to console Aza. Knowing her only since the trio entered the mountain weeks ago, Taka wondered how to console her: she tried talking to her but Aza refused to talk; she tried bringing her around the island but Aza refused to walk. She stopped trying and let Aza soak in her grief.

It was another two weeks before any airbenders arrived on the island, bringing earth benders. On the opposite shore, leaders from the existing three nations-Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Northern Water Tribe-gathered with advisors and caravans of their officials, setting up three large tents surrounded by hordes of smaller ones and one large tent in the center. The air nomads resided on the island, soaring around it on their air gliders and making beds on the mountaintops beneath the stars while breathing in the pure mountain air and meditating on cliff edges.

While the leaders of the nations talked and the airbending elders discussed how to build their temples on the mountains, Jino dutifully retreated into the shadows, his job fulfilled. With airbenders flying around day and night, the island's detailed geography was quickly drawn. Within two days the three great nations agreed with the Air Nomads to allow this island to become a part of the Air Nomads and they promptly returned to their homes, unconcerned with a few small islands becoming part of Air Nomad territory.

That was when Jino was called upon by the elders.

"This island truly does have a strong spiritual center," Tonri said from his spot in the center of the five elders. "You did well. But we have questions regarding the spirituality of this island. How is it that in centuries past, when this island has been explored by our people, none have felt a spiritual presence such as this?"

Jino had thus far avoided the slaughter of pirates on the island and the tale of the three spirits, preferring not to trouble his people with tales of violence and death, but when asked directly about it, he was unable to lie. They had all seen the mounds of earth-which by that four week mark had started to grow grass atop it-but no airbenders had mentioned what the mounds meant. Everything poured out and the five elders listened without reaction.

When Jino was done, Tonri spoke, "Thank you for sharing that piece of the story. It is unfortunate that so many had to die for us to create another air temple here. You have been touched by the spirits, and thus have a stronger connection to them than any others.

"We must protect this new Spirit Portal from outsiders. We will choose the mountains around the new Portal to build our temples on, and we will make this the center of our nation on this island. This temple was to be the second for our sisters, but with your strong connection to the spirits, I think an exception is warranted. When the temple is completed, you will remain here as the only male, though you shall have separate living quarters and your duties will be solely to guide meditation and watch over the Portal. Sister Yamo is to be the matriarch of this temple, and you will report to her. You may leave."

Jino left without responding because arguing was not part of air nomad culture. Being given responsibility over a Spirit Portal was an honor beyond what Jino had imagined. He walked past Taka on his way to dinner with a burst of air from his foot thrusting him into the air with every step. Taka took notice but said nothing as Jino's pep disappeared around her.

"I have been given a great honor," Jino said, turning around to walk with Taka. "The Elders have designated me as the guardian of the new Spirit Portal here."

"Congratulations," Taka said, "that is quite the honor. But aren't female monks going to live here?"

Jino thrust his chest outward. "They made an exception for me because of my strong connection to the spirits." His tone grew solemn as the duo left the shade of the arches and entered the garden - a walled-in collection of plants that were already there before the air nomad's colonization. "There are loose ends that need to be wrapped up."

"Everyone except you, Aza, and myself died on this cursed island," Taka said. "My people have assimilated to the coasts of the island but they're angry that the monks won't let them back into their homes in the mountains. I don't know how the elders are going to deal with that loose end. I'm surprised that Aza's firebending is under control while on this island. "

"Yes, it's a miracle she's able to now control her firebending," Jino said. "How is she doing?" He asked with a sideways glance. "I've barely seen her. Does she talk to anyone much?"

Taka looked downcast. "Ever since Zion died she's been a mute. I'm lucky if I get her to say a few words to me a day. I'm nervous about her. I understand taking Zion's death hard but she's not snapping out of it even a little. She seems to be getting worse. I'm afraid of what might happen if we can't help her."

"And what about you?" Jino said. "Do you talk to many people?"

Taka stopped near one of her favorite plants in the garden, a group of bamboo stalks too thick to see through. The grouping was large enough for 20 people to stand inside, if they could get into it.

"What do you mean? I talk to the monks around, the earthbenders in between working to build the temple. I help them if they need water. I've spent a lot of time working in the gardens."

"What do you all talk about with the monks?"

Taka spent a second longer than she intended smelling one of the flowers. Jino noticed and threw a burst of air at her but she flung the water from her pouch to block it. Jino flew backward and landed across the garden.

"Loose ends that talk need to be taken care of," Jino said. "Nobody can know about the Spirit Portal. It is my duty to guard it."

"I don't intend to tell anyone about the Spirit Portal."

Rather than listen, Jino threw spinning orbs of air at Taka that swirled unpredictably in the air. In a desperate attempt to protect herself she bent the water in all the bamboo, twisting it in a ball around her. The stalks of bamboo were pulled from the ground and flung like spears toward Jino. He bent them away with air and ran in circles around the garden, creating a current that pulled some younger plants from the ground. He searched for an opening in Taka's defense but the bamboo ball was strong. A few bursts of air did nothing. With a strong tornado along the borders of the garden, Jino stopped running and punched toward the bamboo ball, sending sharp slices of air from the tornado at it but the attack did nothing.

Plants near Jino came to life, reaching their vines and stems toward him to grab his arms but the airbender jumped high to avoid them. He pushed the bamboo ball to the ground with air but it didn't smash like he hoped. More bamboo sprang from the ground, darting at Jino but he spun in the air to avoid them all, his years of airbender training on display.

Landing on the ground he spun and kicked puffs of air at one side of the bamboo ball, spinning it on the ground. As it spun a vine as thin as grass crawled up his leg. He felt it too late as the vine wrapped tightly around his leg and lifted him into the air. More vines whipped like pythons from the ground around his wrists and body, encasing him like a mummy.

"What is happening here?" a voice boomed across the garden.

The tornado stopped and another shot of air stopped the bamboo ball from spinning. Two elders-Jeran and Guoto-stood at the edge of the garden. The vines dropped Jino and the bamboo broke apart slightly, revealing Taka's face. Seeing the elders, she stepped out of the ball. Jino prepared to face her again but the elders stepped between them.

"Jino, what are you doing?" Guoto said. "Violence is never a tool we use."

Undeterred from his duty, Jino remained ready to eliminate Taka. At his feet he say thin vines covering the ground that connected to Taka's ankle, allowing her to read all of his movements through the water in the vines. With the elders here, Taka no longer felt threatened by Jino.

"We cannot allow her to leave this place," Jino said. "She knows too much about the Spirit Portal. She will tell the world and then we will be overrun with people coming to try to control it."

"If that is what will come to pass, then it is so," Guoto said. "We do not use violence and we do not interfere in worldly matters."

"But this is my duty. I must protect the Portal."

"Your task is to keep it protected from evil spirits and guide anyone who may travel here that wishes to use it for evil to use it for good instead," Jeran said. "It is not to use violence. We must tell Master Tonri about this."

Jino shook and the wind in the garden intensified and rustled the bushes. He swept his hand toward himself and created a burst of air that pulled the two elders into the garden. They faced Jino with anger disguised as pacifism.

"Do not make matters worse for yourself, Brother Jino," Jeran said.

He took a step toward the garden's exit but Jino swept him inward again. Guoto swirled air to push Jino back but the young airbender used his youthful agility and leaped into the air, shooting blasts of air at the elders. Taka wrapped herself in bamboo again and receded to the wall while the airbending masters whipped air tunnels beneath their legs, raising them to Jino's height before the airbender could react.

In synch the elders spun air in different directions, the current colliding on Jino despite the young airbender's effort to stop them. Jino was thrown to the ground and pinned with air that Jeran maintained while Guoto landed and swirled his hands to create an air orb around Jino that paralyzed the young airbender.

"It is safe to come out now, young waterbender," Jeran said.

Taka released the bamboo from around her and wrapped it with waterbending around Jino's arms and legs under Jeran's direction. Guoto released the air orb and Jino attempted to blast his foes but with the bamboo tight around his limbs he was powerless.

The next days were a blur as Taka went thrice before the airbending elders to recount what happened and spent the other half of her days with Aza, failing to pull the firebender from her depression. Jino was removed as guardian of the Portal. He was stripped of his master airbending status and banished from all airbending temples. His departure from the air temples was the last time Taka would see him, though she didn't mind; it allowed her more time to work on helping Aza heal.

Aza stopped reacting to people at all a day ago and refused to leave her room or eat. Without asking, Taka held water on Aza's back and front, cursing her inability to heal. She willed the ability to manifest and asked the airbending elders for mentoring on how to tap into her spiritual side, hoping to connect with a healing ability through the spirits. Even with guidance by the spiritual masters, the healing ability avoided Taka.

At nighttime she wandered the mountainsides, exploring new paths and finding caves to spend the night alone in so she could avoid the watchful eyes of the monks and avoid crossing paths with Aza. Taka blamed all of the firebender's troubles on herself, and seeing the defeated and lost firebender only filled Taka with more guilt. The monks told her to meditate on her guilt and explore what specifically she blamed herself for, and then to accept that those things happened. Taka could not forgive herself and her chi felt heavier the longer she dwelt on the subject. Soon her bending became sloppy and her form fell apart until she could barely bend a water whip.

The cool drafts from the caves reminded her of distant memories of the Northern Water Tribe's ice tundra, how the cool air crept between your clothes but you grew accustomed to its endless presence. Water dripped methodically from the ceiling; Taka felt the water droplets and let the sound consume her. Best of all, the cave protected her from the shame of being unable to heal Aza.

One night she wandered without realizing into the area of the Spirit Portal. Though monks often meditated near the portal in search of spiritual enlightenment, the space was barren. Taka meandered around the large boulders with spirit writing on them, inspecting the symbols. She sat near the now-covered hole where the Portal rested far beneath the surface of the ground. As if someone stood next to her, Taka heard a voice behind her but couldn't understand the words. Taka stared at the Spirit Portal's covering and soon a ghostly image of Gwu appeared before her.

"Young waterbender, it is good to see you again," Gwu said.

The spirit was hazy and Taka had trouble seeing her. "How are you here? I thought you all became the Portal?"

"Yes, we merged and became the Spirit Portal," Gwu said. "We are now both Spirit and mortal, though we can do nothing more than project our consciousness before those who visit this Portal. I can sense, though, that you are troubled."

"Aza hasn't been able to overcome her depression since Zion died," Taka said, "and I don't know how to help her. I don't have the gift of healing abilities and nothing I say can help her heal."

Gwu sat on the grass opposite Taka, though her ghostly form grew fuzzier with each passing minute.

"A body next to us keeps us warmer than a thousand voices in the wind," Gwu said. "You were not born with the gift of helping others to heal using waterbending, but healing doesn't always come from waterbending. I cannot stay much longer, young waterbender. I hope the spirits help you on this journey."

Gwu's ghostly form disappeared. Taka snapped awake, her eyes still focused on the Spirit Portal covering. She looked around the clearing but was alone. She stayed by the Portal until monks started appearing to meditate under the stars. Then she returned to Aza's room and spent the first of many nights on the floor.


End file.
